Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LQDT. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Liquidity Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Liquidity Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:LQDT opened at $35.46 on Wednesday. Liquidity Services has a 1 year low of $16.79 and a 1 year high of $39.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $33.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.84. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.28 and a beta of 1.36.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. Liquidity Services had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 20.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $1,661,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 103,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,443,585.20. This trade represents a 32.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Edward Kolodzieski sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.29, for a total transaction of $813,540.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $601,675.41. The trade was a 57.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 157,388 shares of company stock valued at $5,263,991 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidity Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in Liquidity Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $488,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Liquidity Services by 307.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 29,746 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 102.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 30,360 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the third quarter worth $1,311,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Liquidity Services during the third quarter valued at $518,000. Institutional investors own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

Liquidity Services Company Profile

Liquidity Services, Inc provides e-commerce marketplaces, self-directed auction listing tools, and value-added services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: GovDeals, Retail Supply Chain Group (RSCG), Capital Assets Group (CAG), and Machinio. Its marketplaces include liquidation.com that enable corporations to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and retail capital assets; GovDeals marketplace, which provides self-directed service solutions in which sellers list their own assets that enables local and state government entities, and commercial businesses located in the United States and Canada to sell surplus and salvage assets; and AllSurplus, a centralized marketplace that connects global buyer base with assets from across the network of marketplaces in a single destination.